2010 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot

Our Napa Valley Merlot is a complex blend of several individual vineyard lots, incorporating fruit from our Estate Vineyards and from top independent growers throughout the Napa Valley. The final wine is a rich and cohesive expression of the entire Napa Valley, reflecting the varied microclimates and soils of this unique appellation.

With firm tannins and exceptional length, this is a lovely and age-worthy wine that shows how much Merlot can excel in a cooler growing season. The aromas are rich and inviting with layers of amaretto, sweet spice and cedar. On the palate, lush flavors of plum, blackberry and cherry dominate, with the tannins adding structure and depth.

Production

Due to a wet spring and mild growing season the 2010 harvest started 2 weeks later than we would normally expect. Later, milder seasons tend to result in wines of fine elegance and balanced natural acidity. This is exactly what we see in our white wines and the best reds from superior locations. During harvest the conditions (a strong heat wave and then significant late rains), caused us to be very diligent in the vineyards fine tuning the fruit and making timely picking decisions. In the winery we took precautions to be respectful to the characteristics of the fruit and feel that has resulted in wines of character and intrigue.

Other Notes

Release Date: November 2012

Wine Specs

Vintage

2010

Varietal

Merlot

Appellation

Napa Valley

Harvest Date

August 23 — November 3, 2010

Sugar

26.1 Brix

Acid

0.62 g/100 ml titratable acidity

pH

3.65

Aging

15 Months

Fermentation

10-12 days fermentation at 80F

Bottling Date

April 2012

Alcohol %

14.5

Robert Parker

93

Product Reviews

Dan

(Nov 29, 2013 at 11:48 PM)

good front to it, but pretty green still. Bummed that we opened it probably a couple years early, so if you have some cellar it a bit longer

виновать

(Feb 14, 2015 at 4:16 PM)

While I'm not normally a "merlot guy", had a bottle of this with dinner at the Lafayette in Stanardsville, VA last night. Spectacular!!!